Water service has been restored to the area surrounding 21st and Woodlawn as city water employees slowly return water pressure to normal levels, officials said.

Parts needed to complete a permanent repair to the ruptured water line are being shipped overnight, said Joe Pajor in the public works department. Once the adapters needed to connect the metal replacement pipe with the existing concrete pipe are on-site, he said, “we will make the decision on when to proceed. “We’ll have to take the water back down again” to complete the repair.

Water service was disrupted late Monday afternoon when a private construction crew accidentally drilled a hole in a water main, city officials have said.

City water crews completed a temporary patch on the water main shortly before 2 p.m., Pajor said.

“What we’re working with there…is a 7-inch hole in a 24-inch water main,” said Gail Williams, administrative manager for Wichita’s department of public works and utilities.

Among the businesses affected by the mishap was Galichia Heart Hospital at 2610 N. Woodlawn, which lost water pressure inside the building.

Hospital officials alerted the water and fire departments. A water department crew was able to run a temporary line from an outlying hydrant and provide enough water for essential use in the hospital, Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said.

The hydrant providing water for the sprinkler system maintained enough water pressure, Crisp said, so adjustments were not needed.

Restaurants in the area – particularly those south of the intersection – were the hardest-hit by the outage, Pajor said.

“This is worse for restaurants than anything else,” he said. “They can’t be open to the public without water.”